Vision in Action

There is no beauty but the beauty of action.

—Moroccan proverb

Why do people commission artworks?

Art acts. Even the most abstract or conceptual painting, sculpture, or artistic vision works to please, impress, or confound a viewer. Sponsors, who commission and support the creation of a particular work by an artist, use objects to communicate with intended viewers—in this world, or the next. Context shapes who and how one sees a given object, and thus determines the process by which artworks act. This room focuses on how African objects were originally displayed and the messages they were intended to convey when they were made and used.

Art has the capacity to tell a range of stories and is limited only by human imagination.

This room features three primary narrativess: political, religious, and personal. Men and women commissioned these works from artists in order to support political authority, to establish connections with a realm beyond our own or, simply, to look fabulous.

Now, seen in the context of museum display, these objects are free to present multiple messages—power, faith, gender, and personal style—at the same time.

Protection from terror. In 18th- and 19th-century central Africa, traders in human captives rode oxen from Portuguese slave trade centers on the coast into Angola and the Congo River basin. This figure may represent such a trader, or possibly the power of a Pende leader to protect his people from the slave trade. Among Pende communities, buffalo have been a symbol of power, of fearsome and dangerous forces beyond human control. Wearing a headdress associated with chieftaincy, this rider seems to exert control over these wild forces. Indeed, when seen frontally, the man’s legs disappear into those of the buffalo’s.

Carrying the Word. Islam, present in Africa since the 6th century C.E., was introduced into Nigeria by the 12th century C.E.

The intricate leather case that covered and protected this personal Qur’an is an indication of the value its original owner placed on the divine text carried inside. Such a case allowed its owner access to the inspirational, protective Word of God both at home and on the road. With a fine, rectilinear Kanawī script, typical of the city of Kano, it was likely created in northern Nigeria. The owner eventually traveled north to Chad, where it was later collected.

Carrying the Word. Islam, present in Africa since the 6th century C.E., was introduced into Nigeria by the 12th century C.E.

The intricate leather case that covered and protected this personal Qur’an is an indication of the value its original owner placed on the divine text carried inside. Such a case allowed its owner access to the inspirational, protective Word of God both at home and on the road. With a fine, rectilinear Kanawī script, typical of the city of Kano, it was likely created in northern Nigeria. The owner eventually traveled north to Chad, where it was later collected.

Carrying the cross. Like Islam, Christianity also has deep African roots. In Ethiopia, the Aksum kingdom adopted the faith around 330 C.E. When carried by a priest, the dazzling copper cross would catch glints of light and draw the eyes of the faithful toward God’s radiant presence.

Kongo King Nzinga adopted Catholicism in 1483, and for at least 200 years thereafter the kingdom sent regular correspondence and officials to the Vatican in Rome. Yet, even after Christianity waned in the mid-18th century, Kongo artists continued creating crucifixes. This practice likely reflected the local relevance of the cruciform itself, for the cross in Kongo cosmology is a dikenga, or graphic sign, that represents the meeting of this world and the next.

Carrying the cross. Like Islam, Christianity also has deep African roots. In Ethiopia, the Aksum kingdom adopted the faith around 330 C.E. When carried by a priest, the dazzling copper cross would catch glints of light and draw the eyes of the faithful toward God’s radiant presence.

Kongo King Nzinga adopted Catholicism in 1483, and for at least 200 years thereafter the kingdom sent regular correspondence and officials to the Vatican in Rome. Yet, even after Christianity waned in the mid-18th century, Kongo artists continued creating crucifixes. This practice likely reflected the local relevance of the cruciform itself, for the cross in Kongo cosmology is a dikenga, or graphic sign, that represents the meeting of this world and the next.

Fashion ink. As much a performance artist as a photographer, Iké Udé stages elaborate studio portraits. Udé has developed a style he calls “post-dandyism,” reviving the 19th-century term for precise and theatrical self-fashioning by men. In so doing, he celebrates his freedom to move in glamour circles that stretch from Lagos to Los Angeles to depict fabulous subjects—including himself.

Untitled #3 comes from a series in which Udé directly engages with his Igbo heritage—specifically, the genre of female body painting known as uli. Igbo women have historically used uli designs as symbols of beauty and status at important events. In this photograph, uli designs meld with global fashion aesthetics to create a lyrical interplay of pattern, shadow, and skin.